


Long Gone

by mylilbirbs



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angus McDonald and Taako Bonding, Character Turned Into a Ghost, Child Death, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Gen, Good Sibling Lup (The Adventure Zone), Halloween, M/M, Modern AU, POV Taako (The Adventure Zone), friends to parental figure and child, ghost angus mcdonald, there's still magic but it's much less used
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:08:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27306778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mylilbirbs/pseuds/mylilbirbs
Summary: When Taako is looking for a new place he's not sure about the one Lup suggests to him, the listing says it's haunted. No matter how much she tells him ghosts aren't real, he can't shake the feeling someone is watching as they tour the house. He wasn't gonna take it, but then the landlord told him the rent, and it was too good to turn down.OrModern and ghost!angus au
Relationships: Angus McDonald & Taako, Barry Bluejeans & Taako, Barry Bluejeans/Lup, Eventual Kravitz/Taako (The Adventure Zone) - Relationship, Lup & Taako (The Adventure Zone)
Comments: 74
Kudos: 83





	1. Chapter One

Lup said she wasn’t kicking him out, but Taako wasn’t stupid. He knew no matter how much she and Barry loved him, that this day would someday come. They had recently gotten married, and Taako’s ex Sazed left the house a while ago, so without the him paying rent they all needed to find a new cheaper place. Besides they didn’t need such a big place for only the three of them anyway. 

Taako thought it'd be the same as always, but Lup not so subtly encouraged him getting his own place. 

“I don’t like it” He frowned looking at the listing Lup in front of him

“You’d live like a five minute walk from us, It’s ideal” She rolled her eyes, “I know you wanna be closer, but this the best I could find so close to the place me and Barry picked” 

“It’s not that” He said, even though that was part of it. “It says it’s haunted. Haunted lulu! Do you want your favorite twin to get killed by ghosts?”

She laughed, “Barry could always fight some ghosts for you” 

From across the kitchen Barry yelled, “No I won’t! Sorry Taako, I’m with the whole ghost fighting biz” 

“Oh fuck you Barold. When those ghosts get me, you’ll be regretting that, I’ll haunt your ass” 

“Listen Koko, we’re gonna get a tour of that place. I’ll hold your hand if you’re scared-”

“Fuck you-” 

“-and they’ll be no ghosts, because it’s probably just rats-” 

“Rats? How is that any better?” 

“-Which we can easily get rid of, and then you’ll have a cool little house right near me and Barry” She finished. 

He sighed, “Fine, but I’ll complain the whole time” 

She smiled, “Great! Get dressed we’re going after dinner” 

“Wait what? I’m not going tonight.” 

\---

They went that night, much to his dismay.

“Thank you so much for meeting us on such short notice Ma’m” Lup said to the old landlord with a fake smile. 

“No thank you, you couldn’t imagine how hard it’s been to find someone for this place.” She smiled, “Shall we?” She opened the door. 

The place was pretty average, he knew Lup wouldn’t suggest a shit hole but still he was a little surprised. The house was small, which was fine, it only had one bedroom and one bathroom. But it may have been just his paranoia but Taako felt like someone was watching him since he stepped foot in the house. 

“I’m sure you already saw on the listing but someone did die in this house.” The landlord said at the end of the tour. 

“What happened?” He asked, an old person dying in their sleep would be very different than a violent murder. Those ghosts would act very different from each other. 

She frowned, “Well, a young boy was killed here about sixty years ago” 

“Oh.” that wasn’t ideal. 

“Some of my past tenants said there was a ghost, but it was likely just coincidences. Most of the original house was destroyed and rebuilt so aside from just a few things you won’t be living in the same place that happened” She explained 

“I see..” He felt Lup squeeze his hand, “How much is the rent?” 

The landlord brightened, “800” 

“A week?” 

She smiled, “Nope, a month.” 

How could he turn that down? Momentarily forgetting the ghost he exclaimed “I’ll take it!” 

As he signed the forms he felt eyes burning a hole in the back of his head.

\---

Taako moved into his new place a few days after Lup and Barry moved into theirs, he was glad his place was furnished because as walked in with only two duffel bags containing his shit he realized how little he really had. 

As he unpacked the lights flickered a couple times, he was too tired to be afraid. Just a coincidence,he reassured himself. 

The fifth time the lights flickered was when he was making dinner, he slammed his fist against the wall, 

“Could you cut it out?” he growled. The flickering stopped,

He waited a few moments to see if it would continue but nothing. “Thank you” he continued making dinner as unease faded slowly into the background.Just a coincidence, he thought to himself but he didn’t really believe that anymore. 

\--

He practically fell into bed, he felt the familiar sensation of being stared at. 

“Stop staring at me” He grumbled, he tossed a pillow across the room. 

The ‘ghost’ seemed to back off a little, but he still felt like he was being watched. He turned to face the wall and pulled out his phone. 

‘Lup 3 missed calls’ 

Shit. 

The phone rang for just a second before she picked up. “Hey Lulu-” 

“I thought you got killed by ghosts! What the fuck?” She yelled

“For all you know that could’ve happened, you’re not here with me. I could be a ghost.” he grumbled 

She sighed, “I’m glad you’re okay, you better answer me next time though.” 

“I will.”  
  
She hummed, “Good. Now how’s your haunted house?” 

“Great, me and the ghost are bonding” 

“That’s nice, I can still force Barry to fight it for you, if it gets hostile.” 

“I think I’m good. If it kills me though, you and Barry gotta avenge me k?” 

“Of course koko. Now please go to bed, you sound like you’re gonna pass out” 

He yawned, “Yep, I already am, Love you Lu,” 

She laughed, “You too.” 

She hung up and Taako was alone again, well of course with his new roommate he wasn’t actually alone. 

“I’m not actually gonna have Barry fight you, you know?” He looked at the corner of the room, it was empty but he felt like the source of the being watched feeling was right there. 

The ghost didn’t respond, he sighed. A part of him hoped that the ghost was real and he wasn’t losing his mind but a bigger part of him hoped he was just tired and he could laugh at how stupid he was being in the morning. 

He’d leave that for tomorrow though, for now all he wanted to do was sleep. He laid down, closed his eyes and then realised the lights were still on. 

He groaned, and he was just about to fall asleep too!

“Stupid fucking light switch, why can’t you be right next to the bed?” He muttered under his breath, just as he said that the lights shut off before he had to get up. 

He blinked, so maybe this was more real than he thought. “Umm thanks ghostie” 

He closed his eyes, if this wasn’t just his sleep deprivation playing tricks on him and the ghost really was real at least it seemed to be polite. 

  
  


\---------------------------

For the past week in his new place Taako was starting to believe more and more in the ghost. All the typical ghost story shit was happening, things that he could just shrug off as coincidence like creaks in the floorboards, cold breezes, and flickering lights. But what was too often to be a coincidence was how all those strange things would stop whenever he asked. And finally something that was definitely supernatural was the books. 

Taako didn’t have many of them, most were cookbooks and a few of them were random fiction that people gave him as gifts that he never read. He left them in a pile near the empty bookshelf. A couple days later he woke up to find them organized on the shelf, except for one which was open on the table. He definitely didn’t do any of that. 

He picked up the book on the table, it was that random kids book ‘Caleb Cleveland’ Magnus had bought him and Lup both a copy as a joke, since the villains in that particular book were a pair of twins who were also wizards. He said it was ‘perfect’ Taako laughed but never bothered reading it. 

“You like this book huh?” He flipped through it before placing it back, “Go wild I guess, I wasn’t gonna read it” 

The ghost like always didn’t respond, but he swore he saw a page flip out of the corner of his eye as he turned around. 

“Just so you know ghostie, Lup and Barry are coming for dinner so you can’t pull any of your usual shit, got it?” He said, Taako knew that the ghost was annoyed at first with him moving in, he doubted it would be cool with guests without warning. 

“Just don’t freak em out kay?” He continued, “my sister and her husband will fight you if they think you wanna hurt me, even though you’re like the ghost of a six year old.” 

Just as said that a bunch of papers fell off the counter and onto the floor. 

He rolled his eyes, “So you’re not six then huh? Listen you can’t get mad at me for guessing, you won’t talk to me or anything so I got nothing. I know you won’t say anything but how old are you then? Seven? Eight?” 

He didn’t expect a response, but he heard two beeps. He turned around and saw the microwave on, set to ten seconds. 

He raised an eyebrow, “So you’re ten?” 

Nothing, he rolled his eyes,” Okay fine, for yes turn something on, and for no .. I don’t know make the lights flicker or something?” 

The faucet turned on then turned back off. Finally some fucking progress. “Okay, good to know kiddo. I gotta another question if you’re up for it .. Are you gonna make me leave, like try to haunt me and shit?” 

He waited and then the lights flickered. “Nice, nice that’s great.” it was an odd way of communication but it was better than nothing. 

“Well, I’ll leave you to your book. And remember no spooking my family, unless I ask you to for a prank or something” 

He didn’t get an answer that time, but he assumed that there wouldn’t be a problem. The ghost always seemed to listen to him when he asked it not to do something, all he needed to figure out now was how to make his house seem a little less haunted by dinner.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like this chapter, let me know what you think!

He spent the day trying to get the house not feel haunted, but his efforts were proving fruitless. The ghost seemed always some sort of constant presence even when it wasn’t doing anything. Taako could feel the cold breezes and watchful gaze when the kid was near. He doubted the ghost was doing it on purpose but it didn’t matter, he wasn’t ready for Lup and Barry to know. 

Being around the ghost was weird, it was easy to forget that he was talking to a dead child and not a weird roommate. The ghost seemed to want to be helpful, handing things to him, and turning things on or off when he asked. It was like the ghost wanted his approval, which went against everything he had learned from movies. 

When Barry and Lup had finally arrived the house wasn’t much better, it was cleaner yes but it didn’t feel any less haunted. 

They came into the house, gave him hugs and only commented on how clean his place was; he had to hold back an audible sigh of relief. 

They fell into typical small talk, ghosts were only brought up with Lup teasing him about being scared before, but he realized that neither of them had any reason to think his house was actually haunted unless he gave them one, so he’d just have to play it cool. 

It was all going pretty normally for the three of them, until Barry and Lup had to go. 

“By the way, remember how we entered that raffle for the spa thing?” Barry asked as they went to the door. 

“The thing that you said was rigged?”   
  


“Yep that!’ Lup answered, “well apparently it wasn’t and we didn’t waste our money” 

“Babe it was like two dolla-” 

“Wait you won?” 

“Yeah! But there’s this one thing..” Lup said. 

“Do you need me to water your plants that weekend?”He asked

“Nah, Merle already volunteered.” Barry shook his head, “The thing is, we bought tickets for the fair and it’s on the same weekend” He continued. 

“So! We'll give the tickets to you if you find a date by then” Lup smiled. 

“Oh fuck off-” 

“Come on it’s been months.” She crossed her arms “Koko you only dated that douche for like a couple weeks-” 

“But we were friends for fucking years!” 

Barry sighed, “We just want you to be happy, we’re not gonna make you move on or anything. Just think it over”

“Fine I’ll think about it” He huffed, 

“Great! And I was mostly teasing about a date, It’d be great but you can just go with Magnus or another friend if you can’t find anyone” 

“Yeah okay,” He sighed, he hugged them goodbye and was left with two tickets to a fair that was only a week away. 

He sighed in relief, he loved them but he wasn’t happy when they kept trying to get him to date again. 

“Hey, do you wanna go to the fair?” He asked the ghost, in response the lights flickered. 

“Thought so..“ He laughed, “Hey ghostie- ah that’s shitty of me, you probably got a name..” He facepalmed, and it didn’t seem like the ghost could or wanted to speak aloud so what the fuck would he call them? 

He felt something nudging his hand, he looked up and saw a pen tapping on his wrist. He blinked. 

“Gods I’m so fucking stupid!” He yelled, pulling out some paper and slamming it on the counter. “Fucking-tell me your name kidoo.” 

The pen floated over the paper, and he watched as the pen wrote ‘Angus McDonald’ in neat handwriting. 

He smiled, “Well good to meet’cha Ango, gosh did you get my name?” He realized, “It’s Taako in case you didn’t pick that up. Sorry for being a shitty roomate”

‘You’re not shitty, sir!’ Agus wrote quickly, handwriting much less neat this time. ‘You’re the first one to actually be nice’ 

He laughed awkwardly, that was.. A little sad. This kid has been here for what? Like sixty years? And none of the tenants even fucking tried to be chill? It was a little weird sure, but as far ghosts go Angus was real cool. 

“So.. Not trying to be rude but uh in most ‘classic’ ghost stories the ghost can like appear and talk and shit. Do you do that?” 

‘I can.’ Angus wrote, the pen hovered for a moment like he was thinking. ‘But I don’t want to if that’s alright.’

“Kid it’s fine! No problems here bud, just wondering.” He reassured. “And, you’re _sure_ you don’t wanna go to the fair? Wait. Can you leave the house?” 

Instead of writing Angus tapped the pen to the words ‘I can’ and then wrote. ‘But if I’m not here who will keep it safe?” 

He laughed, “Listen bud, it _would_ be fucking rad if some robbers came and you scared the shit out of em but I don’t think we’re gonna need that. If you’re really worried I can get the landlady to get us a security system.” 

‘I don’t know.. I haven’t left in a long time..’ Angus wrote after a few seconds. 

He hummed, “Well don’t worry, you can do what you want kid. But I guess I need someone to go to the fair with now..”

‘I sorry, I’m sure you’ll find someone sir’ 

“Hope so, Magnus is a cool dude but he’ll make us do _all the rides_ , and kid your dude is not fan of those” 

He swore he heard a giggle but it could have been his imagination. 

“Good night kiddo, It was nice to finally talk to ya” 

‘You too sir!’ Angus wrote down. 

Taako smiled, sure this was odd, but so was he. He wasn’t ashamed to say that he could get used to this. 

\--------------------

The next morning was his first day of work since moving to his new place, Taako felt a little bad for leaving alone all day and being told that he was ‘used to it’ wasn’t really the reassurance he needed. So yeah not off to a great start. 

Taako worked at a cafe nearby, he mostly cooked all day but was occasionally stuck doing the barista shit, they were quite understaffed but no matter how much he complained he really loved working there. He had the freedom to experiment and fucking dazzle the customers with his food, a luxury that most chefs didn’t have, he did wish it paid more though. 

On the walk there he passed the bookstore, Angus liked those mystery books right? Maybe he’d pick one up for him after. 

The day was pretty normal, most of his conversations were coworkers and regulars asking about his move, it was a bit repetitive but he only minded a little bit besides he used them as testers for his newest recipe so those talks weren’t just a waste of his time. 

As he was cleaning up for the day, he waved goodbye to who he thought was the last customer but only a fifteen minutes before closing some asshole decided to show. 

He groaned at the familiar sound of the bell.Who the fuck was coming for coffee at seven pm? But he slapped on a customer service smile and went to the front, this douche better tip. 

He had to stop, okay this guy was a bit of an asshole so why was he so attractive? The man was tall, he had long dark hair and dark skin. His eyes were striking, they looked almost like a bright red. A long black cloak dragged behind him, Taako had to look away when he realised he was staring. 

“Hey darling, what can I get for you at this hour?” 

The man blinked, “I uh I’m not from here-” He said in a horrible cockney accent, Taako had to suppress a laugh, holy shit what a dork. 

“Sorry, nervous habit..” He spoke normally. “I’m Kravitz, I’m- gods, you don’t care about that do you?” 

He laughed,”Nah it’s fine. I’m Taako. You said you’re new right? Well how ‘bout you try our well, _my_ newest dish” 

“I’d love to”

Taako smiled, luckily he still had a few cookies still warm. He grabbed two and handed one to Kravitz and gestured for him to sit at the counter.

“And how much do I owe you?” Kravitz asked. 

“Eh it’s on the house” He shrugged flipping the sign to ‘closed’ 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yeah I’d have to throw it anyway, you’re doing me a favor” He lied, he would have brought the extra cookies home, he wondered if Angus could eat. 

“Well I feel bad just taking it,” Kravitz said, putting some money in the tip jar. 

“Thanks. So, you’re not from here, where'd ya come from?” He asked. 

Kravitz paused, “I’m from uh, down! Down south!”He switched to an awful southern drawl. 

“Holy Shit!” Taako laughed

“Sorry, it’s a fun little character quirk of mine,” He said normally.

“I love it,” He laughed, “Say, southern boy, how about we go to the fair together?” He asked, micking Kravitz’s terrible attempt of a southern accent. 

“I’ll go with you if you never do that again” He laughed

“No promises” 

Kravitz rolled his eyes with a smile.”Here I might as well give you my number, so I can take you up on that offer.” He held out his phone, which was an old looking flip phone. 

Their hands brushed as Taako took the phone to input his number. Kravitz's hand was freezing cold. 

He walked Kravitz out to the front of the cafe. “It was nice meeting ya cowboy” 

“I’m never gonna hear the end of that aren’t I?”

“Nope!” 

He laughed, “It was nice meeting you too Taako” he took Taako’s hand and gave it a squeeze, it was still freezing cold.

They went their separate ways, Taako walked into the bookstore to look for something for Angus and his blush still wasn't gone. 

Maybe it was time to move on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What'd you think? Let me know by leaving a comment, I very much appericate it!! <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako goes out to buy something for Angus and runs into Kravitz again.  
> Taako and Angus have another breakthrough in their communication

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took kinda long! I hope you enjoy the chapter though!!

Throughout the week he and Kravitz texted back and forth, the guy wasn’t exactly quick to respond, he claimed to be bad with technology which Taako would usually call bullshit on but Kravitz _did_ have a flip phone so he’d give him a pass. 

Their conversations were a bit spaced out but they did call a couple times which was better, he made a good choice picking Kravitz to invite to the fair. Sure he was a dork but it was endearing. 

Gods, he was getting way too hopeful way too fast. Sure, Krav was cute and nice, and funny and-aw shit he couldn’t be doing this to himself again. 

He felt something brush against his hand, taking him out of his head. He looked down and saw a slip of paper, Angus had wrote ‘stop overthinking sir,’

He rolled his eyes, “What are you a mind reader? Wait.. can ghosts read minds?”

‘No’ Angus wrote, ‘I can just tell sir,I’m very observant’ 

He hummed “Yeah, you’re like a little detective” Angus grabbed out his book, Taako couldn’t see his face but he bet the kid was excited which made him laugh. 

“Fine, whatever. Ya caught me. How about you help me make breakfast and I’ll stop overthinking, kay?” 

Angus didn’t write down a response this time, just dropping his book and already opening the fridge. 

\---

He stepped into the bookstore, Angus had already finished the book he got a few days ago and luckily those kid detective novels were wildly cheap. He didn’t mind the expense either way though, the kid helped him cook and clean, the least he could do was buy him some books. Plus knowing Ango had something to do made him feel a bit better leaving him alone when he had to work.

He grabbed a couple of the books with the coolest covers, and made his way to the cashier. But he paused at the shelf right before he got there, it held notebooks and things like pens and pencils. Currently Angus was using sticky notes and random loe paper to communicate. Maybe this'll make it easier or at the very least more organized. And based on the way that Angus cleaned, he knew the kid loved to be organized. 

He grabbed a notebook, and some brightly colored pens, they already had normal pens afterall. 

Making his way to the checkout he heard a familiar voice call out; “Taako? Is that you?” 

He spun around and saw Kravitz carrying some books of his own.

He smirked, “Who else would it be hun?”

Krav, laughed, “It’s nice to see you again Taako”

“You too cowboy,” 

“Please stop calling me that.” Kravitz begged. 

“Get used to it babe, you’re stuck with that till I think of something better” 

“Anything would be better” 

He smiled, “Hmm no. I’ll think of something eventually or it’ll grow on you” 

He rolled his eyes fondly, “ I doubt it.” 

“Here” Kravitz took his books out of Taako’s arms. “Allow me to pay.”  
  
“What, no you don’t have to-”

“I _want_ to, besides you gave me free food and you’re taking me to the fair. Let me do something for you” Kravitz interrupted. 

Taako grumbled but didn’t argue, Kravitz was a chivalrous dork he knew fighting him on it would be useless. 

He laid out the books on the counter, Taako noticed Kravitz was buying some historical novels. Specifically about necromantic crimes. He was about to ask about it when Kravitz picked up one of his books. 

“You enjoy detective novels?” He asked

Taako shrugged, “It’s for the kid not for me,” When Kravitz’s eyes widened he realized his mistake. 

“You have a kid?” 

“Yep!” He said with a strained smile, “Well, I’m uh fostering him, he’s like super shy. Like he literally won’t talk to anyone but me” 

“Oh poor thing, it’s good that he has you though” Kravitz said. 

“Yeah, he’s a good kid, crazy ‘bout these books. But yeah he’s like _so_ shy.”He tried, hopefully Kravitz would lose interest or just accept he wouldn’t be meeting Taako’s kid.

But instead Kravitz asked, “What’s his name?” 

“Oh it’s Angus” He figured it wasn’t worth a lie, but to his confusion Kravitz looked shocked. 

But he quickly gained his composure “I see..how old is he?” 

“Uh ten?” He answered with confusion. 

“Oh..I-..Sorry This is just reminding me of something”Kravitz sighed

“You okay?”He asked

“Yes. I’m fine it’s probably just a coincidence” He brushed it off. 

Taako frowned, what was he talking about? “Uhhmm Okay..”

“Don’t worry about it. I was just being dumb-”Kravitz had switched to his stupid cockney accent making Taako laugh

Kravitz blushed, “Don’t laugh at me, I’m nervous!” 

“You don’t have to be.” He shrugged “But you can’t do that accent and expect me not to laugh” 

Kravitz nodded, not responding aloud. 

“You’re still nervous, aren’t you?” 

He answered quietly “Yes-”but it was still loud enough for him to hear the accent making him burst out laughing. 

The cashier gave them a dirty look and they hurried out after paying. 

“It was great to see you again Taako”Kravitz said when they were outside the shop, fortunately in his normal voice this time.

Taako smiled, “You too Krav,” they were standing less than a foot apart, Kravitz cupped his cheek, he felt his heart skyrocket.

“I’ll see you this weekend right?” 

“Yea- yep! You can’t get out of it if that's what you’re thinking” 

Kravitz laughed, “Of course not, I’ll see you then” 

\---

He closed the door behind him as he entered his house.He saw that there was a box on the counter and he could feel Angus watching him. 

“Hey bud I’m back” He walked over to the box, “Did you get me something?”  
  


Angus took out a sticky note and wrote out; ‘No sir, your sister came and dropped it off’

He hummed, sure enough inside the box was a bunch of shit he forgot at Lup’s and Barry’s.

“Oh kiddo you don’t have to use scrap paper anymore” He pulled out the notebook for Angus. 

“I also grabbed some pens and those kid mystery books you’re into” He continued, placing the rest of the stuff he had got on the counter. 

Angus took the notebook and wrote on the first page, ‘You didn’t have to sir, but thank you.’

“It’s no biggie, plus I ran into Krav and he paid.”He shrugged, he looked back at the box. “Did you say hi to Lup when she came by?” He joked

‘No sir’ Angus wrote, ‘You didn’t want anyone to know about me’ 

The response made him frown, “I thought _you_ didn’t want anyone else to find out about you. Kid, I’m not gonna make you hide if you don’t want to” 

‘You said not to scare anyone’ Angus continued, ‘Ghosts are scary’ 

“Pumpkin, you wouldn’t be scary if you tried.”   
  


‘But they don’t know me.. They don’t know I’m not gonna hurt them’

“Well I can vouch for you.. Listen kid, I’m not gonna make you do anything. You want everyone to know you? Cool you do you, I’ll help. You want me to keep you a secret? That’s fine too, and I’ll do it. I got no problems with whatever you want”

‘I think’ Angus wrote, ‘I don’t want to hide anymore’ 

“Great!”He exclaimed, “I got’cha kiddo, how do you wanna do it?” 

‘I’m not ready yet. I’m sorry sir.’ Angus wrote quickly, ‘I wanna start trying though. I think I need to talk and be seen by you before anyone else’ 

“You don’t have to apologize to me. I just finished telling you that I support your decision either way. “ Taako explained, “Just take your time kid, don’t force yourself” 

Taako tried not to show his excitement too much, he didn’t want Angus to feel like he _had_ to show himself. He didn’t that night.But Taako swore over the next few days he heard whispers and humming following him throughout the house. 

He didn’t say anything but hearing it always made him smile. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think! I'd love it if you commented!!  
> Next time: Taako and Kravitz go on their fair date, Taako and Angus meet face to face for the first time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako has a great time with Kravitz. Though he is acting kinda weird..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! Have this extra long chapter to make up for it. I'm really happy with it and I hope you like it too! 
> 
> There are some minor descriptions of blood and injury in this chapter, In the paragraph starting wih 'His dark skin had almost a greyish undertone' and it ends at the end of that paragraph. It's pretty minor but if you think it may trigger you feel free to skip that paragraph.

The day had finally arrived. He was getting dressed preparing for his date, he had told Barry and Lup the night before that he had got someone to go with. He had been putting it off and when they both cheered and congratulated him he remembered why. He pretended to be annoyed but truthfully it barely bothered him, he was a little happy they were excited, he was too.

“Do I look okay kid?” He asked, standing in front of the mirror, he saw Angus’ notebook floating next to him. 

The notebook flipped around where Angus had written, ‘You look great sir! But you need a coat’

“Hmmn thanks kid but nah. It ruins the whole look” He shrugged, he didn’t have that many coats anyway. 

‘You need it, it’s cold!’ Angus scribbled. 

“I’ll be fine” He rolled his eyes, just then the doorbell rang. “Bye kid wish me luck!” 

He ignored the jacket that Angus threw at him as walked to the door but smiled when he heard the kid whisper a soft ‘good luck’ as he turned the doorknob. 

He opened the door and almost laughed when he saw Kravitz so nicely dressed. But instead he just smiled. 

“You look nice”

Kravitz smiled in return, but looked a little nervous. “Thank you.You look lovely as well”

“Thanks babe, you ready to go?”He held out his hand.

Kravitz took it, “Yes let’s” they turned to take the short walk to the fair, but the whole time Kravitz nervously looked behind them. 

“You okay?” He asked. 

“Yes I’m fine I just-” He sighed “Do you know how old your house is?”

He frowned, what an odd question. “Not really, I know it’s at least been around since the sixties at least though” He answered truthfully. 

Kravitz’s frown deepened, “I see.. Do you have a basement?” 

“I don’t know? My landlady never mentioned one. Why?”

Kravitz stopped, they were close to the fairgrounds now. He could hear the distant chatter and see all the rides. Taako squeezed his hand, which as usual was freezing cold. They met eyes and Kravitz had an odd look on his face, he had seen the man be nervous before but never like this. 

“Just-If you do you need-”He sighed, “Just be careful please” 

“I always am baby. But, do you wanna sit down? You don’t look so great..” Taako cupped his cheek with a frown, Krav was acting so weird. Was he sick or something?

Kravitz waved him off with a forced smile, “It’s alright I’m fine”, at his still concerned expression, he took his hand off his face and kissed it. “Let’s go in, I’m alright” 

Taako tried to keep his blush away but failed, “If you’re sure..”

\---

Kravitz seemed to calm down by the time they played a couple of those rigged games. Taako still was a bit weirded out though, he knows that he’s only Kravitz for like a week but he was so confused by the way he was acting. He hoped it didn’t come back up, he wanted this night to go well.

But he wasn’t sure it would, he was shivering. Yes, he should’ve listened to Angus. But it was a little too late for that now. Gods when did it get so cold? It just had to be freezing the one night he went out. 

“Taako?” Kravitz’s voice brought him out of his self pity. 

“Uh yeah? What’s up Krav?” He said with a strained smile. 

“Are you okay? You’re shaking.” He frowned

“Oh that! Yeah it’s all good, just a little cold. My body is just dramatic as I am, so you know I gotta shiver’ He laughed trying to hide how shitty he really felt. 

Kravitz only looked more concerned, “Here” He took off his own coat wrapping it around Taako, “Take mine”    
  


“Oh-uh Nah, it’s fine you don’t have to-” 

“I insist, I don’t get cold anway” He interrupted,making Taako chuckle. 

“Well thanks then” He smiled awkwardly pulling the coat snug around his shoulders, it was so warm he wondered what it was made of. He glanced over at Krav as they walked, and fortunately he didn’t look cold at all. 

“Hey Cowboy-

“Taako, love, please don’t call me that-” 

“You said you were from down south right?” He asked ignoring Kravitz’s pleas

Kravitz narrowed his eyes “Yes I am. Why?” 

“Well, how are you doing so well in this cold?” He wondered

“I-I uh well I travel a lot for work..that’s what I’m doing here” Kravitz answered looking away from him. 

He hummed, “Really? What’cha do?” 

“I’m a- a bounty- no that makes it sound violent and-” 

“Wait. ‘bounty’? Babe, are you a fucking a bounty hunter?” He laughed incredulously

Kravitz froze “No! Well.. I uh just find criminals right?”

“Yeah I’m following”

“And I tell them this whole spiel about all their crimes and they’ll face judgement. Most of them are cooperative. I don’t really have to fight people. And I bring them in” He explained

“I’m pretty sure that’s a bounty hunter hun,” He teased.

Kravitz sighed, “Yes- but I just wanted to make it clear. I rarely have to fight anyone, it’s not as violent as the name makes it sound” 

Taako squeezed his hand, he could get why Krav might be concerned. Telling people you’re a ‘bounty hunter’ might cause some reactions. “I’m not worried. That sounds sick as fuck babe. Besides I wouldn’t peg you for the violent type anyway, you’re a huge dork”

Kravitz laughed, “Maybe a little” 

“Maybe?” He shoved him playfully, “You speak in a fucking cockney accent when nervous”

Kravitz rolled his eyes with a smile, “Fine you got me there” he said with a slight british accent making Taako laugh his ass off.

“Say, how long you gonna be in town for?” Taako wondered, “You said you’re just here for work”

Kravitz frowned, “That’s true, though I'm not sure how long I’ll be here.I have a few bounties in the area, so probably a while. The closest one though I’m not particularly looking forward so I’ve been kind of putting it off” 

“Why’s that?” Taako squeezed his hand

Kravitz paused with a look of consideration, “I- I can’t tell you, I’m sorry Taako”

Taako smiled awkwardly, feeling bad for asking. “Hey It’s chill, let’s stop getting all serious though. That game:” Taako pointed to a nearby game that looked like darts “doesn’t look too rigged” 

Kravitz relaxed, “Yes, maybe we can even win a prize” He gestured to the large plushies that were stocked on shelves in the game's stall. 

Taako shrugged, “Maybe.. Oh! Angus would love that shit!” He looked to Krav, who looked a little tense instead of excited, but as they walked up to the game he looked calm again.He hoped this rollercoaster of emotions would end soon, he just wanted Krav to have fun. 

His intuition was correct, the game wasn’t rigged, or at least it wasn’t rigged well. Kravitz who wasn’t confident in winning at all got it first try. 

“So which one would uh Angus like?” Kravitz asked. 

Taako looked at plushes, they were all just teddy bears, dogs and cats. Nothing unique he could impress the kid with sadly.

“That one” He pointed to a plush beagle, he remembered seeing Angus doodle some dogs in the notebook Taako got for him and those kid detective books usually had a beagle on the cover somewhere. 

The carney grumbled something about cheaters under their breath but handed him the plush anyway. 

Taako smiled, “Thanks for winning it for me cowboy”   
  


Kravitz smiled back hesitantly “Yes of course. I hope he enjoys it” 

“Oh yeah he’ll fucking love it” Taako responded making Kravitz’s smile warmer. 

“It’s getting kind of late Taako. I think they may be closing soon” Kravitz noted

Taako looked around and he was right, the fair was starting to look a little empty. Food stalls were closing up, the lines to rides were short or nonexistent. 

“Hey, let’s do the ferris wheel before they kick us out” He suggested

Kravitz chuckled and took his hand, “That’s a great plan” 

\---

They were the only ones in line. The rest of the fair seemed to be cleaning up, Taako frowned, he hoped they could actually get on the ferris wheel. He wanted to end this night off well. 

The fair worker looked annoyed when they came up, but when Taako handed him a couple bucks as a tip he sighed and let them get on. 

“You only get one ride.” The worker grumbled, “We’re closing up soon ”   
  
“Yes, thank you” Kravitz responded

“Yeah, no more after this, ya got it bud” He tacked on. 

They sat in silence as the cart slowly moved up, Taako found himself looking down at the scenery below but out of the corner of his eye he could see that Kravitz was looking at him. 

“What’s on your mind Krav?”

Kravitz blinked, “Oh nothing really.. I just had a good time tonight. Thank you for inviting me.”

Taako smiled “Of course cowboy, I had a good time too” sure there were some ups and downs but overall the night went well. 

“Yes. I like you Taako” Kravitz took his hand, “we should do this again sometime” 

Taako blushed, “Uhh yeah! I’d love to. But you gotta pick the next date okay?”   
  
Kravitz laughed “Yes of course” He sighed, “But I want to apologize for being so tense earlier. I shouldn’t of acted that way” 

Taako waved him off “You;re fine, you're allowed to be tense. And we still had fun right?” 

“Right we did. “ Kravitz looked away, “Just- if you do- if you have a basement, please don’t go in there. I’m pretty sure I’m just being nervous but please.” 

Taako frowned and squeezed his hand, “What exactly are you nervous about?”

“I can’t tell-” Kravitz sighed with frustration, “I’m just being irrational, I’m sorry for worrying you” 

“Trust me, I’m probably way more irrational than you are” Takko said trying to lighten the mood

It didn’t seem to work, “I’m sorry for acting so strange- I didn’t want to mess this up”

“Hey, you didn’t mess anything up. I’m not gonna bail on ya for being kinda nervous” Taako comforted. 

Kravitz looked up at him. 

“I did say you were gonna get to pick the next date but how about you come to dinner at my place? Next week same day?” He suggested 

“I think.. I’d like that” Kravitz said with a small but warm smile. 

They looked into each other's eyes for a few moments, neither of them noticing the cart slowly descending. 

Taako leaned forward, Kravitz cupped his cheek and their lips met in a cold yet soft kiss.

Taako was hesitant with moving forward with Kravitz at first, he was always one to take things too quickly, and that’s what ended up making him and Sazed fall apart. He was nervous, that situation wasn’t something he wanted to repeat. But here now, he knew that it wouldn’t be the same. He wasn’t sure how or if this would end but he was willing to risk his heart again, this time it felt that it might just be worth it. 

“Alright, it’s one ride only. Get off” He heard the tired voice of the ride operator ushering them off. 

Taako and Kravitz laughed, hopping out of the cart. The whole fair was empty now, only a couple workers remained. 

“Hey Krav, let’s get the hell out of here.” 

Kravitz smiled taking his hand, the coolness was comforting. “Yes, let’s” 

The walk home was quiet, but it was comforting. They didn't need to constantly talk to enjoy each other's company. They stopped in front of Taako’s door. 

“I’ll see ya next week right cowboy?” Taako asked, his hand on the doorknob.

Kravitz rolled his eyes fondly, “Of course dove, I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” 

Taako blushed, “Great! Well, drive safe, goodnight”

“Goodnight Taako, and please be careful as well” 

“You don’t have to worry about me!”Taako laughed, “I’m the most careful. I’ll text you tomorrow ‘kay?” 

Kravitz relaxed, “Okay.. have a good night dove” 

“You too babe!” He called out as Kravitz walked away. 

Taako waited for Kravitz to drive out of view. He turned the knob and walked inside his house. 

“How’d it go?” he heard the soft whisper of Angus’ voice and the kid also held up his notebook where he wrote the same thing. 

“Good” He smiled, “He was kinda nervous but he’s a really good guy” 

He heard Angus hum, and he held up the notebook ‘that’s good! :D and where’d you get the jacket?’

Taako’s eyes widened as he read “Oh shit- Krav gave it to me, I forgot to give it-” 

“It’s fine,” Angus whispered, Taako felt a hand on shoulder. ‘You shouldn’t worry about it now sir. You can return when you see him next’ Angus wrote. 

“Yeah- you’re right kid, sorry. I’ll see him next week anyway” Taako yawned, “Sorry pumpkin, I’d love to chat but I’m super tired”

‘It’s okay sir!’ Angus scribbled, ‘We can talk tomorrow’ 

“Well goodnight kiddo” He went towards his room, he could hear Angus whisper a soft ‘you too’ in response. 

\---

Taako didn’t lie, he was tired. But for some reason his stupid fucking brain wouldn’t let him. He couldn’t stop thinking about some of the things Kravitz told him. Did he have a basement? How old was his house? In the moment all he wanted was for Krav to feel better and he didn’t get to process how fucking  _ weird  _ those questions were. Did Kravitz know something about his house? He specifically told him to avoid the basement if he  _ did  _ have one. But why? The unanswered question gnawed at him for as long as he tried to sleep. He groaned and rolled over, turning on his phone. He felt like screaming when he saw that it was only four am. 

He knew he wouldn’t get any sleep if he didn’t at least try to get answers. He pulled Kravit’s jacket over his pajamas, and grabbed a flashlight from his dresser.

As he walked the halls he noticed he didn’t feel Angus watching him yet. Maybe the kid was sleeping. Could he sleep? But whatever he was doing it wasn’t watching him so Taako made it to the end of the hall without the little ghost questioning him. 

He shined the flashlight at the wall, it looked wrong. Like something had been hastily covered with wallpaper. He gently brushed his hand over it. One part wall was not as solid as the rest. He pressed his hand through, tearing the paper. His eyes widened in realization, there was a doorknob here once. So he did have a basement then. 

He opened the door, looking down he saw the stairs go down to a short hallway with another door at the end. He sucked in a breath and put his foot down on the first stair.

The loud creak echoed through the entire house. It was only a split second before he felt Angus watching him. 

“Taako?” The kid whispered, he could feel him right behind him. 

“I’m just checking this out pumpkin” He reassured, going down three more steps. 

“Please sir don’t” He felt a hand grab his own and yank him back, it freezing cold and small. Angus may be a ghost but he was still a kid he wouldn’t be able to stop him like that. 

“I’m sorry kid” He took another step down “I gotta know” 

“No!” Taako flinched, it was only a normal speaking volume but it was the loudest he heard Angus speak. His voice was raspy and scared. 

“It’s okay pumpkin” He tried, he was near the end of the stairs now. “I live here, I can’t- I won’t sleep not knowing.”   
  


Angus grabbed his arm with both hands. He didn’t let it stop him. 

“Listen Ango, It’ll be fine” He tried comforting again, he was so close, his fingers inches away from the rusted knob. 

He grabbed the knob and was yanked back with a surprising amount of force. He turned around and froze when a pair of dark grey eyes met his own. 

“Angus..” 

The kid looked almost alive, but just some things were slightly off enough to tell he was a ghost. 

His dark skin had almost a greyish undertone, his once fancy clothes were torn up and his dark brown curls were matted with blood. His glasses were crooked and cracked on his face, his arms and hands were scratched up like he had shoved them in a tub of shattered glass. That wasn’t even the worst part. He could see blood stains on Angus’ clothes and there was a cut on his throat that was still red and bloody. 

Taako stepped away from the door and towards the terrified kid.  _ What was he doing? _ Had he really let his curiosity get this far? That Angus had to do this to snap him out of it. 

He wrapped Angus in a hug. 

“I sorry- I didn’t” Angus whispered, leaning in. 

“No, it’s okay. I’m sorry for doing that. I’m sorry pumpkin, I won’t let it happen again.” He comforted

“Promise?” It was barely over a whisper

“Yeah pumpkin, I promise”

The embrace felt like it lasted hours, but Taako didn’t mind, the kid needed him. Besides, he found the coolness comforting. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think! I was gonna spilt this into two chapters but I felt that you guys waited long enough. I hope you liked it tho! :D I'd love it if you commented


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angus and Taako go shopping and figure some things out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like this chapter!!

When he and Angus emerged from the basement the sun was beginning to rise, had it really been that long? The kid had stayed visible the whole time, occasionally he would flicker or look translucent but he stayed the whole time. Taako didn’t let go of his hand either, it was small and cold and sometimes it felt like the kid just might vanish but he was undoubtedly here and Taako didn’t let go. Gods, he spared a glance at Angus for a ghost he looked so  _ alive _ ,injured yes but it was hard to believe he was dead.

He knew Angus did not want to talk about it, that much was clear but holy shit he wanted to find out what the fuck happened to this kid, if there was someone responsible and how he could could get them. 

“Sir, I’m sorry about all that I-” Angus’ scratchy voice broke him out of his thoughts

“Pumpkin, we established this already. You did nothing wrong” He assured. 

“I just wish you didn’t have to see me” He frowned, bridging his hands over his neck “I look-terri-gross- just awful sir” 

“Hey don’t say that, I see nothing wrong with you kay? And you know I’m the most judgemental asshat on the planet so I wouldn’t lie to you” 

Angus laughed “You’re not an asshat sir”

“Yeah but I  _ am _ judgemental, let’s get ya cleaned up” He ruffled Angus’ hair. 

\---

He wrapped the last bandage around Angus’ arm, “And done! How ya feeling buddy?” He asked. He thought he did a decent job, it wasn’t easy, some of the blood would wipe off with ease and some of it wouldn't come off no matter how hard they would try. He brushed out Angus’ curls and put some bandages over the injuries, the kid would need some clothes and luckily Angus told him that he could change the clothes he was wearing. 

“I feel.. I feel good? Better than before” Angus decided

“Great! You’ll probably feel even better when you get some clean clothes” 

Angus frowned, “You don’t need to all this I’m not alive I- I don’t need all this” 

“Sure ya do! Listen pumpkin, sure you’re a ghost but you still deserve to be comfortable” He argued “Does this make you more comfortable?” he asked. 

“Yes it does, I just don’t want you to waste your money on-” 

“Hey! It’s not a waste, you’re the coolest ghost I know so I’m gonna buy you some sick ass clothes, capice?” He interrupted

Angus laughed, “I’m the only ghost you know sir” 

“Hey you don’t know that for sure pumpkin” He teased, “Now let’s get going”

\---

Taako had given Angus an old t-shirt to wear over his bloodstained clothes. The shirt went down to the kid’s knees and was pretty ugly but it got the job done. He held Angus’ hand the whole time, sometimes he’d have to squeeze his hand to bring Angus back when it felt like he was gonna fade away. He tried to take the kid to less crowded stores to avoid that but Angus still got shy sometimes. Not that Takko blamed him though, he hasn’t left the same place in like 60 years? If that were him , he’d probably be a little freaked out too. 

The kid had tried refusing all the clothes he offered but Taako caught on quickly. He couldn’t force Angus to get anything especially since the ghost wouldn’t say what he wanted, finally Taako tried something new, 

“Say pumpkin, how about I make ya a deal?” He suggested 

“A deal sir?” Angus tilted his head

“Mhm.” He hummed “I need some new clothes too kay? So whenever you get something I can get something too” 

Angus frowned “I don’t want to waste you-” He stopped and Taako’s glare “I mean- uh how much clothes do you need sir?” He asked nervously 

Taako paused, he didn’t lie he could use some more clothes but it definitely wasn’t as much as Angus needed. 

“Ten? Yeah, I’ll need ten things, which means you get ten things too” 

Angus shook his head “I don’t need that much sir!” 

“Yeah ya do kiddo! Listen, if you’re gonna hang with me you gotta be fashionable and you’ll need clothes for that. So let’s get shopping hun” 

\---

Angus seemed to like old fashioned, fancy boy clothes, which made sense. He picked out some things for the kid and holding his end of the deal some things for himself too. 

Looking through another rack of clothes with Angus, Taako heard a familiar voice.

“Taako?” He heard Julia say he turned around and saw the woman smiling at him. “Hi! Sorry to sneak up on you, it’s been a while!” 

He smiled “It has! Good to see ya! Maggie here?” 

“Nah, he’s working on some projects at home. What? Am I not enough for you?” She teased. 

He rolled his eyes “Oh come on Jules.. Hey so how are you doing?” She was about to answer but paused “I’m well- Sorry Taako but who’s your buddy?” 

He froze, giving Angus’ hand a reassuring squeeze, he gently pulled the kid forward. “It’s Angus he’s uh staying with me” he told her, he wrapped an arm around Angus’ shoulders silently begging him not to disappear.

Julia smiled warmly “It’s nice to meet you honey”Taako watched Angus give her a small wave, he was luckily it was Julia and not anyone else he knew. She was probably the most normal of his friends. 

“Yeah so Ango this is my friend Julia” he introduced. Angus nodded “nice to meet you ma’am” He said barely over a whisper. 

“Well I’ll leave you two be”Julia said “Very nice to see you both but I gotta get going” she explained. Taako hated how relieved he felt at that. 

She walked away, leaving just him and Angus. “Sorry pumpkin, I didn’t know she’d be here. But hey! You did so good!” 

“I did?” Angus asked

“Hell yeah you did, nice job kiddo” He smiled, Angus returned it with a nervous smile of his own. 

\--

They left the store shortly after, buying all of the clothes and heading home. Angus looked nervous and tired.But Taako repeatedly told him how good he did and that seemed to calm the kid a little. 

Arriving back home, he promised Angus they could try all his new clothes the next day, before laying down in his bed. He was about to drift off but the sound of his phone woke him up with a start. 

“Who? What?” He groaned

“Wow, you seem tired koko” Came Lup’s voice “Want me to call back later?”

“Nah it’s fine, I got a minute. What’s up?” He asked sitting up. 

“Well I just wanted to ask to you about something I’ve heard” She said

“Someone spreading rumors about me?” 

She laughed, “oh no she wouldn’t, I just got a call from Julia and well-”

“Julia?” Fuck no, Angus was doing so good he couldn’t let everyone he knew find out. 

“Well that answers my question.” She paused. “Koko, who’s this kid and why didn’t you tell me?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and let me know your thoughts! Sorry about how long this took

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed!! I'd super love it if you gave a kudos and especially a comment. I'm like almost done with the next chapter, so hopefully you'll be seeing that soon.


End file.
